


Catch Your Breath (and try again)

by vulcanhighblood



Category: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Aaron Davis Regrets, Aaron Davis is a Good Uncle, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Gen, Jefferson Davis is an Okay Brother, Major Character Injury, Miles Morales Needs a Hug, Miles Morales is Awkward, but we love him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28147776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vulcanhighblood/pseuds/vulcanhighblood
Summary: Aaron survives Kingpin's gunshot, if only just. Now he has to deal with the aftermath, and come to terms with what he almost destroyed (whohe almost destroyed).He'd take a bullet for Miles any day. It's the fact that Aaron almost let Kingpin put the bullet in him that he can't seem to forgive himself for.
Relationships: Aaron Davis & Jefferson Davis (Marvel), Aaron Davis & Miles Morales
Comments: 14
Kudos: 165
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Catch Your Breath (and try again)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Acucena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acucena/gifts).



Consciousness came without fanfare, dragging Aaron back to the land of the living with excruciating slowness. It hurt to breathe, and for a few minutes that was all he could focus on - it hurt, like fire screaming up and down his ribs. A minute after that, he was able to peel his eyes open and stare up at the speckled tile ceiling above him. Definitely not his place, and now that he was starting to piece things together, he realized that this wasn’t his bed, either. Way too uncomfortable, for one thing. 

Blinking slowly, Aaron tried to piece together what the hell had landed him in this place. It smelled like old people and disinfectant, he heard soft noises and distant voices. He tried to shift over, to turn his head and see where he was. That hurt, too, though not as bad as whatever was going on with his ribs. His eyes trailed from the roof down the neutral beige walls, the chair beside the bed, the small remote-control-looking device sitting on a white plastic-looking tray beside him… monitors on the wall… aw shit. A hospital? 

That mystery solved, Aaron set his mind to the next big question: What happened to him? How had he ended up here? Who had brought him in? He tried to turn over, but his wrist caught against something that jangled and he glanced down to see - damn. A handcuff, linking his wrist to his bed. So some sort of custody, then. He grimaced, trying to remember what he’d been doing when he last remembered. He remembered gearing up, he’d been sent by Kingpin to find the new Spider-Man, had followed him to a sleepy little neighborhood… and then… It got fuzzy there. For some reason, his mind kept trying to tell him Miles had been there. And Jeff. But that didn’t make sense! 

Well, maybe Jeff. He never seemed to be far off when it was time to judge Aaron for his life choices, but that didn’t explain Miles. Maybe he was confused. He was probably confused. With a sigh, Aaron rolled his head back up to stare at the ceiling, shutting his eyes. None of this made sense. Maybe sleeping would help straighten out some of the ridiculous ideas that seemed to be floating around in his head. 

The next time Aaron woke up, Jeff was in the chair beside his bed. He looked relieved, which was a far cry from the disappointed look Aaron had been expecting. 

“Hey,” Aaron greeted, bracing himself for the mind-numbing lecture to which he was sure Jeff was about to subject him. He wanted to say something witty, but even the single word sent a lance of pain sparking down his ribs, and he decided that he would save his breath for the time being, savoring his air in shallow sips that kept his ribs from screaming quite so loudly. He wondered if they had him on lower pain meds because of… well. There were a lot of reasons to choose from. He had more important things to worry about right now. With some effort, he refocused his attention on his brother.

The look in Jeff’s eyes was softer than Aaron had seen in years, and he wasn’t sure what could have prompted such a look. More surprising than that was the fact that Jeff  _ still _ didn’t look disappointed when he spoke. “Hey yourself,” he replied, shifting in the chair so he was facing Aaron more directly. “How do you feel?”

Aaron decided that question wasn’t worth wasting his breath, so he just grimaced back at Jeff, who took his meaning.

“Right,” Jeff scrubbed at his neck awkwardly. “Do you remember why you were brought in?”

Aaron considered the question. Unlike the last time he’d awoken, he felt like his mind was a bit sharper, and the things that had felt scattered before fell into place. Miles  _ had _ been there, and Jeff. Because  _ Miles was Spider-Man. _ Well. The new Spider-Man. And Aaron… He’d almost done something unforgivable. He felt his stomach twist at the thought, and realized a moment too late that he’d allowed something of his emotions to show, because Jeff sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. 

“Yeah,” he choked out, “It was pretty bad.”

_ You have no idea, _ Aaron thought, still reeling from the knowledge that had come sailing into his brain with the force of a sledgehammer. He’d had Spider-Man (Spider-Kid, really) by the  _ throat, _ dangling him off a rooftop, and then the boy had managed to pull back his mask. The moment had seemed to stretch out into an eternity. Aaron hadn’t known how to respond at first - not because he’d  _ ever _ do anything to hurt Miles, but because the choices he’d made had almost resulted in the most heinous act he could ever imagine. 

Then Miles’ eyes had widened, and he’d  _ twisted _ like a snake in his grasp. For a moment, Aarong thought it was because he was still trying to escape. Then the sound of a gunshot reached his ears and he  _ knew. _ Kingpin wanted the kid. Wanted his loose ends tied up. He’d wrapped his arms around the boy, curling his body around him to protect him as the second gunshot rang out, a searing pain shooting through his side as he turned. 

Which explained why his chest hurt, at least. Before Kingpin could get off another shot, though, the  _ other _ Spider-Man (and why were there so many of them?!) had knocked the gun from Kingpin’s hand. Before Aaron could say anything more, Miles had scooped him up and pulled him from the roof (and when had he gotten so  _ strong? _ Well. Probably the same time he’d gotten the ability to turn invisible. Regardless, it had taken Aaron by surprise).

“Gunshot,” Aaron said, wincing as he took another breath. 

Jeff grimaced. “I was on the scene responding to a call about some Spider...People… battling Kingpin and some… associates.” Here he leveled a sharp stare in Aaron’s direction. Ah yes, the disappointment he’d been waiting for had finally made its appearance. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel as bad as Aaron had expected. He’d already disappointed Miles more than he could ever disappoint another human being, even if he  _ tried. _ Disappointing Jeff just didn’t compare, and Aaron didn’t have the mental capacity to really process how messed up his life had become. 

Frowning, Aaron realized that Jeff was still staring at him, that look of disappointment fading into a look of  _ discomfort. _ It took him a few seconds to understand why. “You saw him,” Aaron said, understanding. It was one thing to learn that your screw-up of a brother was working with Kingpin, but it must have  _ killed _ Jeff to see his son as a vigilante.

“I thought Spider-Man had been the one to take you out,” Jeff said stiffly, his eyes dropping to somewhere between Aaron and the floor. “I thought… I thought you were  _ dead.” _

_ Poor Miles,  _ Aaron thought. He’d hate to be the one trying to explain that he hadn’t actually tried to kill his uncle, but his uncle  _ had _ tried to kill him on Kingpin’s orders. What a day. He wasn’t dead, though, so that was good, he guessed. He lifted an eyebrow in Jeff’s direction. “Guess I wasn’t,” he said, forcing a grin.

“It was pretty touch-and-go for a while there,” Jeff replied, a sharp edge to his tone that hurt even more than Aaron thought the usual disappointment would have. “I went to Miles’ school to tell him, but…”

_ Miles’ school? _ Aaron thought.  _ But Miles was there when you found me, wasn’t he? _

“Anyway,” Jeff continued, without actually explaining why he’d gone looking for Miles at the school of all places, “You missed one of the biggest supervillain nights of the year. Oh. And the new Spider-Man?”

“Yeah?” Aaron was surprised to see that Jeff didn’t have the same tension in his voice, in his frame when he spoke about Miles-as-Spider-Man. He would have expected a little more… disappointment? Disapproval? Nagging? But Jeff just seemed… confused.

“He saved us from some weird science experiment gone wrong, and then…” Jeff looked even more baffled. “He, uh. Gave me a hug?”

Aaron was beginning to suspect he hadn’t quite followed Jeff’s story as well as he thought he had. “Wait. Who gave you a hug?”

“Spider-Man,” Jeff clarified. “And then he handed over Kingpin.” He had a gleam in his eye when he said that, and Aaron had a sneaking suspicion he knew what was coming next.

“We placed Kingpin at the center of the catastrophic event, and we’ve traced some funds back to this project through a few unsavory channels, but it’s not as much to work with as we’d like. To put him away for good.” Jeff was really studying Aaron now, his eyes full of something Aaron hadn’t seen from him for awhile now. Hope. 

He hated being the one to always chase that gleam from Jeff’s eyes and replace it with the disappointment. He knew what was coming, and he wasn’t sure he had a good answer for Jeff. Not yet, anyway. 

“And the thing is,” Jeff continued, eyes continuing to watch Aaron’s expression for any reaction, “we could use a witness account to put Kingpin away for good. Someone who may have been working for him. Who may have kept records of the jobs he did for Kingpin?” Jeff’s gaze was practically searing as he added, “Maybe if he found a good lawyer who could get him a reduced sentence in exchange for cooperation?”

Aaron would take another bullet and  _ then _ some if it meant making recompense for what he’d almost done to Miles. But he still wasn’t sure why Jeff was avoiding the elephant in the room. “And what about Miles?” he asked. Surely he’d want Miles to testify, as the kid had been a witness to Kingpin’s murder of Peter Parker, the first Spider-Man.

“Miles will come visit later,” Jeff said, patting Aaron’s arm. “I’m here after visiting hours, on official business. I’ll be back with Miles in the morning.”

Was Jeff doing this intentionally? Aaron rolled his head back to gaze at the ceiling for a moment. Fine then, if Jeff didn’t want to talk about Miles’ new… pastime… then Aaron was going to just let it be for the moment. “Get me that lawyer,” Aaron said wearily, casting his eyes to the side to glance at Jeff, nodding slightly. “I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Jeff nodded back, stiffly rising to his feet, moving as if to pat Aaron’s arm again before thinking better of it. “I’m proud of you,” he said. “This is a good first step.”

Proud? Aaron resisted the urge to scoff. He wouldn’t be so proud if he knew what Aaron had almost done. Instead of saying anything, though, he took the coward’s way out, closing his eyes. “I’m tired,” he said. “See you in the morning.”

“Right,” Jeff replied awkwardly. “In the morning, then.” A moment later, Aaron heard the door to his room swing open, and ease shut.

He sighed to himself, reopening his eyes to stare at the ceiling, frowning as he heard a soft scuffle come from the opposite side of the room. When he turned his head to look, there was nothing there. Had it been his imagination? 

Just as he was about to shut his eyes again, he heard  _ another _ scuff. He turned to look a second time, but there was still nothing but a small window with a scenic view of the Hospital parking structure. 

“Are you really tired, Uncle Aaron?” came a soft voice from the window. “Because if you are, I can come back later.”

Aaron should have figured out what was going on sooner than that, but he gave himself a bit of a break since he’d only just learned that his nephew was able to turn  _ invisible. _ “Miles. You mind joining me in the visible spectrum?” he asked, making sure to inject a teasing tone into his voice. The last thing he wanted to do was sound aggressive, especially after… 

After everything. Shit. He wasn’t sure he could do this.

Miles shimmered into view, standing awkwardly by the window in a  _ very _ different suit from the last one he’d been wearing. It was no longer a cheap bodega knockoff. Instead, this suit was sleek and black, with a stylized red spider emblazoned on his chest. It suited him well, Aaron thought with a mixture of pride and surprise. How long had he been out, that the kid had managed to make a full suit? 

“Look at you,” Aaron said, forcing a grin that didn’t quite sit right on his face as he tried to decide what he was feeling. “You made it your own.” He wasn’t just talking about the suit, and they both knew it.

“I… yeah,” Miles said, moving across the room to stand at the end of Aaron’s bed, shifting his weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. Aaron hated that - Miles had always been so comfortable with him, it tore him up inside to see how tense he was now, the way he was holding himself back. 

“Hey,” Aaron said, lifting his arms slowly, “You give your old man a hug in the suit, but not me?” 

Miles tilted his head as he stared back at Aaron. “I’m pretty sure your doctor wouldn’t approve. I was in here when she talked to dad about your condition.”

“Oh yeah?” Aaron said, a little surprised. “Exactly how long have you been here?”

“I followed Dad,” Miles explained. “He got the call about you waking up around the time they got Kingpin cut down and loaded into the prison van.”

That checked out. Kingpin wouldn’t have fit in the back of a regular cop car without some significant shoving. A van made more sense. “I see,” Aaron said, setting his arms down. The silence stretched between them for several long minutes. Finally, when it became too uncomfortable to bear any longer, Aaron spoke again. “Who else knows? Besides your dad and me, I mean.”

Miles tilted his head again. “Knows?”

“About your new gig,” Aaron explained, gesturing at the suit.

Miles glanced down at himself. “You mean being Spider-Man?”

“What else would I mean?” Aaron asked, baffled.

“Dad doesn’t know,” Miles said then, and Aaron was confused all over again.

“But he said you were there when he found me.”

“I was,” Miles said. “But I panicked and ran. And also turned invisible.” He scrubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m still getting used to that kind of thing.”

_ You and me both, kid, _ Aaron thought with some amusement. Now that he had a moment to think about it, Miles’ story made a lot more sense than Jeff’s extremely laidback reaction to the fact that his son was now a danger-courting vigilante. “Huh,” Aaron said. “Does anyone else know?”

Miles considered the question, and glanced down at his suit thoughtfully. “Um. Just the lady who made the suit, really.”

Did he not know her name, or just not trust Aaron with her name? Aaron wouldn’t blame him for not trusting him - he didn’t trust himself, at this point. They lapsed back into silence, Miles picking at his suit awkwardly while Aaron stared back at him and tried to figure out what to say, how to fix this - if there even was a way to fix it. 

“With great power comes great responsibility,” Miles’ soft voice broke the tension with a gentleness that Aaron didn’t deserve. “That’s Spider-Man’s motto.” 

“Mm-hmm,” Aaron nodded, waiting for Miles to continue

“I… have a responsibility to protect people,” Miles said, ducking his head as he plucked at the fingertips of his gloves. “But I… I don’t want to… if you… I can’t...”

Ah. Shit. Aaron shut his eyes, inhaling sharply, feeling his ribs complain vociferously at the sudden motion. He ignored the pain, mostly because he deserved it. “Miles,” he said, “What happened at the house…”

“Uncle Aaron, I don’t want to fight you,” Miles said softly. “Please. Don’t make me…”

It was like his heart was being squeezed in his chest. He’d earned his pain, and then some. Miles was a kid, an innocent kid. He shouldn’t have to worry about whether he’d be facing his own family in a deathmatch - once was terrible enough, Aaron hated the idea of ever going through something like that a second time. “I won’t make you do that, Miles. Never again,” he promised, and he meant it. What he’d almost done… it tore at him, far more painful than a bullet. The knowledge of what  _ could have happened _ piercing his very soul. 

“...good,” Miles said, his voice so small Aaron could barely hear him.

“And you know,” Aaron continued, determined to reassure the boy, “they say knowledge is power.”

Miles shifted, clearly confused by the non sequitur. “Oh yeah?”

“I have a lot of knowledge about Kingpin and the people he worked with,” Aaron said, not bothering to tally the number of hits he was about to call down on himself with the decision he’d just made. It was worth it. All of it, if it meant he could show Miles that he really meant what he’d said. That he would never, ever allow himself to be put in a position that forced their two alter-egos to be at odds with one another. “A lot of  _ power.” _

“Oh yeah?” Miles said, still sounding confused. 

“With great power comes great responsibility,” Aaron reminded him. 

“Oh. Yeah…” Miles didn’t sound any more certain than before. “What kind of responsibility?”

“The responsibility to make sure that those people can never put innocents in danger the way he did with that… experiment,” Aaron said wearily. 

“It was a particle accelerator,” Miles said, as if Aaron had any idea what that meant. 

He chuckled and nodded. “Particle accelerator, then. Point is, I have the knowledge, which means it’s my responsibility to tell people what I know, so they can put Kingpin and his associates away for a long time.”

“But if you do that,” Miles said quietly, “won’t that mean you have to tell them about a lot of stuff that you did, too?”

Aaron grimaced. “Sometimes being responsible means admitting to your mistakes,” he said. “And the biggest mistake I ever made was choosing to throw in with the likes of Kingpin.”

Miles leaned forward slightly. “But-”

“I almost lost you, Miles,” Aaron cut him off. “I almost - I -” He couldn’t say it. It was caught in his throat and he couldn’t voice the horrible thing that was clawing at his insides. 

“But you didn’t,” Miles said, his voice growing hard as he moved closer, finally stepping away from the foot of the bed, walking up until he was standing beside him. “You stopped, as soon as you knew.”

“And if I hadn’t known, I would have…” Aaron still couldn’t say it. “I don’t want to lose you, Miles. And if there’s  _ anything _ I can do to keep this city a little safer for you…”

Miles was on him a moment later, his arms wrapping around him in a light hug. It jostled his ribs, but Aaron felt some of the building pressure inside him ease. “I was so scared,” Miles sobbed into his chest. “I didn’t know what to do.”

“I know,” Aaron murmured, lifting a hand and patting it on Miles’ masked head as the boy clung to him. “I know.”

“I thought he killed you,” Miles sniffled. “I thought… it was my fault.”

“Never,” Aaron hissed, furious that Miles could ever think such a thing. “That wasn’t on you, that could never be on you.”

“I’m sorry,” Miles said, “I sensed the gunshot, but I didn’t know how to react-”

“You shouldn’t  _ have to  _ react,” Aaron growled, wishing he could do anything to take this heavy mantle from his young nephew’s shoulders. But he couldn’t. This power was Miles’, and he’d chosen to do good with it. 

Now it was up to Aaron to do everything he could to keep him safe while he did his work. He’d tell Jeff and his buddies everything they needed to know about Kingpin. He’d keep his nose clean for as long as necessary to allay suspicions. But Prowler would be back one day. Not as an enforcer that could be auctioned off to the highest bidder. But there were people out there whose evil Miles couldn’t begin to imagine. Horrors too great for someone as young and innocent as his nephew. Monsters who were too corrupt, too dangerous for Spider-Man to face. 

Prowler, though? Prowler could take them out. And he would, Aaron decided. Anything for Miles. Anything to earn his atonement. Spider-Man could protect New York City, a shining symbol of heroism to admire. But in the shadows, where the darkness lurked? That’s where Prowler would be, watching the boy’s back. 

“I’m glad you’re not mad,” Miles said quietly, stepping back from the hug, moving as if to wipe his eyes, only to realize he was wearing a mask.

Aaron chuckled. “Why would I be mad?”

Miles shrugged uncomfortably. “Spider-Man’s not exactly a popular guy.”

“Hey,” Aaron protested, “I thought he was a friendly neighborhood guy.”

Miles snorted at that, a bit wetter than the usual sound of amusement. “Yeah, I guess so.” 

“Miles,” Aaron said seriously, reaching out to grab his hand. “Whatever you choose to be, you’ll be great. You know that, right?”

Miles looked away momentarily before turning back to Aaron, his voice strained when he replied. “I know.”

“I’m proud of you,” Aaron said. “I let you down, but you kept right on going.”

Miles’ hand spasmed lightly in his hand. “It wasn’t anything…”

“You’re amazing, Miles,” Aaron interrupted sharply. “You are. Don’t deny it.”

Miles nodded slowly. “Okay.”

Aaron nodded back. “Okay.” He leaned back then, shutting his eyes. “Now I  _ am _ tired.”

Miles shifted softly, when a vibrating sound broke the silence. “Oh!” he exclaimed. “That’s dad.”

“You better go,” Aaron said, prying one eye back open to look at Miles. “Be safe, Miles.”

“I will,” Miles promised, hustling to the window. “And you too. Be safe, I mean.”

“I love you,” Aaron said, watching as Miles shimmied the window open, perching on the sill.

Miles glanced back over his shoulder. “I love you too,” he said, before flicking his wrist and  _ leaping _ from the window ledge. 

Aaron was halfway out of his bed before he remembered that was something Spider-Man could do, and his ribs weren’t about to let him get the rest of the way out of bed. He crashed back down with a grimace. He’d thought he was familiar enough with the idea of Miles being Spider-Man that it wasn’t going to be an issue. Aaron glanced back up at the ceiling and tried not to curse at his uncooperative ribs. Clearly, he still had a few things to get used to.

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written anything for Spiderverse before, so I really hope I did this justice! Sorry that Jeff ended up taking over the first 1/3 of the fic, I don't know why he showed up but he did.  
> I really love the relationship between Aaron and Miles, so I'm really glad I got the chance to write a bit more, and I'm always a fan of "nobody dies" AUs. Thanks for the great prompt, I hope you liked it! :)


End file.
